Review: All About Influenster

As y'all may have noticed, I have recently been posting about Influenster. This program has recently had a relaunch, and I have been asked to write a review about it.

Although I was not around for the old Influenster, I think the new changes are exciting and fun. Influenster introduced badges, where you can show your expertise in various areas with blog posts, reviews and social media.

In Influenster's words, Influenster is "a free-to-join community of invited trendsetters who live to give opinions of products and experiences. Influenster creates links between brands and members to reward participation and influence future products." 

I love it because you get to test new products and talk about products that you have already tried. They have fun incentives and challenges to make it more interesting to give your opinions.  I think this is a great program to join!

The best part of Influenster is that it is free! Why not join? Go to www.influenster.com to request an invite! 

VoxBox Review: NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Eyeshadow Palette Custom Compact in Dark Shadows

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently received the Fall 2012 Beauty Blogger VoxBox, full of great inexpensive products.

One of the products I received was the NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compact Eyeshadow Palette in Dark Shadows. I have never used NYC eye shadow before so I was eager to see what it was like.

Here is what Influenster says about the eye shadow: "NYC New York Color's all-in-one compact gives you everything you need for a complete eye look: primer, illuminator, applicator and complementing shadows. With four vibrant colors designed for your eye color, you can create a look as individual as you are!"

I have a confession to make: I mostly stick with purples and browns when it comes to eye shadow. When I opened the NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Eyeshadow Palette in Dark Shadows, I wasn’t sure if I would like the look.

I didn’t like it…I loved it! The blacks and grays looked great! They can be used lightly for a fun daytime look and can be easily transitioned to night with a heavier application. You can also use this palette to make a nice smokey eye.  For those who are just getting into eye makeup, the palette provides a label on the back that tells you where to apply the different colors.

I went for a subtle look here and really liked how it turned out!

The best part of this product is that is incredibly well pigmented for the price! I was surprised that a $4.99 eye shadow would have so much pigment.

The eye shadows are a bit powdery, but I think it is a good quality for the price. I also loved that the palette came with primer and illuminator, though I thought that the primer was a bit too oily.

Overall, I think this is a good eye shadow for this price point. I would recommend it for anyone looking for an affordable option! 

For more information about NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Custom Compacts and other products, visit http://newyorkcolor.com/.

Influenster Beauty Blogger VoxBox Fall 2012

Hello friends,

It has been a while. I took a break from blogging to focus on a new job! I have had an idea for a new blog for months, and I am preparing to launch it either late this year or early next year. Just need to work a little more on the design! 

Recently, I was sent some great free beauty samples from Influenster.  Influenster is a free program for people who like to give opinion on products and experiences. There are many categories to choose from to earn badges and qualify for coupons, discounts and free VoxBoxes. I would highly recommend joining this program.

The best part of the Beauty Blogger VoxBox is that every item in it is extremely affordable. Sometimes I receive samples that are fun to try, but I know that I couldn't afford the product so it is great to try items that I could buy in the future!

Here are the contents of my Beauty Blogger VoxBox:

• NYC New York Color IndividualEyes Eyeshadow Palette in Dark Shadows ($4.99) Shadow is one of my favorite products to try out so look for a review of this product soon!
• Kiss Ever Pro Lashes Starter Kit ($5.99)- These lashes looked more appropriate for a costume than everyday wear, but they might prove me wrong!
• Eboost Daily Health Booster ($28 for box of 20 powders)- Energy boosters are great for long days at work!
• Not Your Mother’s Kinky Moves Curl Defining Cream- Can't wait to see if this cream works!
• Goody Simple Styles Spin Pin ($7.29)- I have been wanting to try one of these pins and am excited to see if it works!
• Bath and Body Works White Barn Mini Candle in Mahogany Teakwood ($3.50)- This candle smells amazing. I can't wait to light it.
• Boots No. 7 Beautiful Skin Night Cream and Cleansing Balm- My skin gets incredibly dry in the winter so I'm looking forward to seeing if this product is worth it. 

For a short description of each product by Influenster, click here. 

Look out in the next few days for more in-depth reviews on several of these products. If you are interested, head to the Influenster site and request an invite. It is a great service and lots of fun! 

A Year in Review: 2011

Chris and I have been blessed with a wonderful year, filled with many adventures and changes.  I thought I would do a quick recap of some of the highlights of 2011 as we look forward to beginning 2012.

January: We left for Maastricht, The Netherlands for our three-month study abroad trip. We also traveled to London and Bath, England on a group trip with our program.

Chris and I at Stonehenge on our group trip to London.

February: The highlight of February was spending Valentine’s Day in Paris with Chris. We had so much fun exploring the city and spending time together. We also visited Berlin, Potsdam, Cologne and Munich in Germany, Salzburg in Austria, Brussels in Belgium and Lyon, Dijon and Strasbourg in France.

Chris and I near the Eiffel Tower.

March: In March, we celebrated Carnaval in Maastricht. It was so fun to be part of the celebrations. We took a day trip to Amsterdam before the festivities. We also got a full week off from school so we visited Prague in the Czech Republic and Vienna in Austria. We then met up with Chris’s family in Zurich and visited Interlaken, Grindelwald and Bern in Switzerland. The next weekend we met up with Chris’s family in Paris and went to the Louvre and visited two castles in Loire Valley. Then, Chris and I took a day to visit Bruges in Belgium and then headed to Gent, Belgium to meet up with my friend Kim! It was so great to see her again. Chris and I took one final trip to Heidelberg, Germany before our month of travel.

April: We finished school at the end of March so April was our month of travel. We took a night train from Paris to Madrid and visited Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. We then headed to Nice and Marseille in France, visiting Monte Carlo while in Nice. After France, we begin our wonderful tour of Italy, visiting Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Capri, Cinque Terre and Stresa. Chris and I finished the month of travel with a relaxing day in Annecy in the French Alps.  We returned to the United States in late April.

Me in the beautiful Cinque Terre.

Chris and I in Barcelona.

May: In May, Chris and I both graduated from Baylor! Though we were sad to leave Baylor and our great apartment in Waco, we were excited to start the new phase in our life. I also started a new travel blog- www.pinkvalise.com. I have been writing three times a week for the blog. 

Chris and I graduated from Baylor!

June: Chris and I moved to our new apartment in Dallas. I also started working at a public relations firm.

July: Chris and I got our sweet puppy, Skyler, on my birthday. She is a corgi mix. We had fun adjusting to our new role of dog parents.

Our sweet puppy Skyler.

August: Chris started med school! He has enjoyed his first semester as an MS1.

September: Skyler graduated from puppy training! She was so cute in her graduation cap.

Skyler graduated!

October: The big event of October was Chris’s white coat ceremony. We also went to the State Fair of Texas.

November: Chris and I went back to Baylor for Baylor Homecoming!  We got to meet up with friends and watch Baylor beat Missouri. It was so great to be back for a weekend. We also got a few days off to spend Thanksgiving with Chris’s family.

December:  We traveled back and forth to the Waco area a lot- I was a bridesmaid in Katy’s wedding and then the next weekend we headed over to spend Christmas night and a few days after Christmas with Chris’s family.

We had such a fun 2011, traveling around Europe and getting a new puppy. We are excited to see what 2012 holds for our little family.

Settling into the Big D

Hello friends,

It has been a month since we have moved into our apartment. Here is a quick update on what we have been up to. I will try to update in more detail as soon as possible.

• We moved into our new apartment. It's in a great location, with everything we could possibly want or need close to us. 
• I started a new job. Monday will be my fourth week. I work for a public relations company, but my boss is also launching a new high-end perfume and candle fragrance line in October so I have been designing the boxes and bottles and working on the website. I have also been doing a lot of social media to try to get people excited about the brand. 
• Chris and I have moved my travel blog to its own domain. You can now find it at www.pinkvalise.com. It was a lot of work to make the transition, but it has been worth it. I love the new layout and I still enjoy writing for it every week. 
• I still write for the Examiner. You can find all of my articles at http://exm.nr/lQ6gGe. I would really appreciate it if you would look as I get a little bit of pocket change in return for each page view. 
• Next week is our "super week"- our birthdays and anniversary. I have been working hard to make it special for Christopher since he will be starting medical school in four weeks. [He doesn't like to hear that.]

I hope everyone is doing well and I will try to update in more detail in the future. 

With love, 

Olga 

Living in Limbo

Chris and I have been living with his parents while we wait to move into our apartment in Dallas. It has been nice to get to spend time with them.

Chris and I have also been able to spend more time than usual with each other. It has been so nice to just be able to hang out and watch TV together, especially since that time will be hard to find with Chris starting medical school in the fall.

Other than that, I have been writing a lot. I still update three times a week on my travel blog, pinkvalise.blogspot.com and have recently started writing for the Examiner. On the Examiner, I get paid per page view on each article so I would really appreciate it if you had a look.

My examiner page-http://exm.nr/lQ6gGe

My latest article about Paris-http://exm.nr/krP5jD

We are moving to our apartment tomorrow so I will post some pictures when it is ready.

Love,
Olga

Beyond Baylor: Adjusting to Life as an Alumna

We graduated last Saturday. On to our next adventure!

I never realized how hard it would be to leave the university that I had grown to love. I take after my father, and I am usually eager to jump to the next chapter of my life. With Baylor, however, I don't want to let go. My heart breaks every time I remember that I will never have class on Baylor's beautiful campus again.

I suspect that part of my difficulty in letting go lies in the process of packing away our apartment. I love to move from one place to another, another trait that I received from my father. However, with the 15 times that I have moved in my life, I have always detested the process of packing. I even despise packing for travel. It is one of the few things in life that I procrastinate. This time, I have actually done a fairly good job of packing ahead of time, but the closer it gets to the date we move, the less I want to finish the process. Perhaps it is because a part of me wants to stay, and I feel like when I done packing, our move is a done deal. 

With my family after graduation.

The best part about moving to Dallas is being close to my family. Even though they currently live two hours away, we haven't been able to see each other much since Chris and I got married. I recently saw them for the first time in four months, after studying abroad in Europe. We are going to be living about 30 minutes away from my parents so it will be nice to meet them up for dinner without a four-hour roundtrip.

Chris and I next to the beautiful Pat Neff hall.

Even though we are leaving Baylor at the end of this month, I plan to come back as much as possible. I can't wait for Chris and I to attend Homecoming, basketball and football games and other events as alumni. Baylor is where Chris and I met, fell in love and got married at the beautiful Armstrong Browning Library. Baylor is forever weaved into our lives, even when we are not physically on campus.